Today marks our final podcast of 2016. What a year it's been! Join us today for a conversation with another Huffines Institute alum, Dr. Emily Schmitt. Dr. Schmitt's work on health, exercise, and the environment is sure to close the year out well. A very interesting subject! LISTEN NOW!

This week's podcast features one of our own - Huffines Institute Affiliate Dr. Heather Vellers joins us for a discussion on groundbreaking research taking place right now on mitochondria and how their genome affects our health! Really cool stuff! LISTEN NOW!

We're thrilled to have Dr. Amanda Boyce from the National Institutes of Health join us on the Podcast today! Amanda brings a wealth of experience in scientific review, and discusses the specifics behind how our tax dollars get spent on research in funding from the National Institutes of Health. A really informative talk! LISTEN NOW!

Today is the first videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Larry Kenney, the Marie Underhill Noll Chair in Human Performance at Penn State University. Dr. Kenney's talk is called "Climate Change, Aging, and Human Health" and covers the physiological issues we will all face with the onset of Climate Change. LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Playing the piano, swinging a golf club, typing words on a computer - what do all these activities have in common? Physiologically, each requires the careful coordination of different movements by both limbs to complete the task. This is bimanual coordination, and we have Dr. Deanna Kennedy in the studio to talk about it! Join us for a talk on the very basics of human performance, and how completion of even the smallest tasks is an impressive physiological feat! LISTEN NOW!

Most believe that sport, particularly organized sport, is a generally good and positive activity that leads to positive outcomes - but why? How can we maximize the positive outcomes that sport has with the greatest regularity? Join us with Dr. Marlene Dixon, as we take on these questions and more in this week's podcast! LISTEN NOW

Healthy lifestyle choices are an important part of every athlete's routine, particularly when it has to do with the fuel they give their body. Join us for an interesting discussion on nutrition in athletics, with Dr. Susan Kleiner, a highly decorated nutritionist, scientist and author. Dr. Kleiner is the owner of High Performance Nutrition, LLC, a consulting firm in Mercer Island, Washington, and has authored eight books on nutrition and dieting. We're thrilled to have her on the podcast! LISTEN NOW!

Joining us this week is Dr. Jeff Potteiger, a Professor in the Department of Movement Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Dr. Potteiger discusses his research, and how some of the world's premier athletes' transition out of their sport is often accompanied by health issues. A really interesting talk! LISTEN NOW

This week's Podcast Friday represents our 200th! To thank you for your continuous support, Dr. Lightfoot is joined by Producer Kenneth McIntyre to take you behind the scenes of the Podcast and to meet some of the people that make the Huffines Institute successful! To that end, this podcast also features Texas A&M Coaching Academy Director Dr. John Thornton, plus current and former Huffines staffers Ayland Letsinger, Alexis Appelquist, Carlos Guevara, and Sheril Marek.

This week's podcast features an unlikely partnership - Texas A&M's College of Architecture and School of Public Health are combining with the Department of Health and Kinesiology to produce cutting-edge research on physical activity in communities! Drs. Chanam Lee and Marcia Ory join us for an interesting discussion on health, location, and the environment as they discuss the NIH supported "Active Living Austin" project. LISTEN NOW!

After a long summer's break, we're back! Joining us to kick off our fall podcast season is one of our very own: Dr. John Eliot, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Sport Management here at Texas A&M. Dr. Eliot discusses his experiences in the field, and how each of us can apply his methodologies to our daily lives! LISTEN NOW

Congratulations to Huffines Affiliate Dr. Emily Schmitt! Her recent work showing that in utero exposure to a common environmental toxicant inhibited the daily activity of mice after they are born to the middle of their life! Read the article here: http://nyti.ms/29a9yGq.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Tell us what you think. Read Andrew Jagim's article"Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?" "Juice, roids, gym candy, pumpers and stackers are all common nicknames for substances more technically referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids. Anabolic steroids are defined as any type of exogenous drug that mimics the effects of testosterone in the body. Most people take them with the goal of increasing muscle mass, improving performance or enhancing physical appearance."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

"Osteoporosis afflicts roughly 8 million American women (13). Exercise is often prescribed as a measure of preventing osteoporosis due to its ability to increase bone formation. This eventually increases bone mineral density thus providing a reserve of bone to protect against losses due to estrogen deficiency from menopause. According to CDC reports, from 2011-2013, roughly 26% of American women..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it below!

What do you think? Read Brandon Macias's article titled "Compartment Syndrome: The Last Orthopaedic Surgery Emergency?" "Compartment syndrome is a serious condition that involves increased pressure in a muscle compartment. It can lead to muscle and nerve damage and problems with blood flow, according to the National Institutes of Health’s Medline."

Joining us this week is Dr. David Thompson, a Professor in the Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Thompson talks about his experiences over his career, and the often challenging circumstances that arise throughout our public education system. A really interesting talk! LISTEN NOW

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Joining us this week is Dr. Scott Trappe, the John and Janice Fisher Professor of Exercise Science and Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University. Dr. Trappe talks about ... Listen in on Dr. Lightfoot's conversation with one of the field's most qualified experts!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read an interesting and inspiring story from Adam Cohen titled "Using Soccer to Overcome Obstacles. A Sport-For-Homeless Success Story." "In sports, we often hear stories about the rise and fall of athletes. One minute they are on top of the world leading every highlight show, the next minute the game has passed them by and a new superstar has stolen their thunder."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

"If you’ve visited your doctor for a check-up and had your blood cholesterol checked, chances are you were told about “good” and “bad” cholesterol. If your numbers weren’t the best, or you have a family history of heart disease, your doctor may have recommended that you decrease your “bad” cholesterol and increase your “good” cholesterol. Your “bad” cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol..."

Today is the eighth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Claude Bouchard, The John W. Barton Sr. Endowed Chair in Genetics and Nutrition in the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Dr. Bouchard’s talk is called "Less Sitting or More Exercise or More Fitness?” and discusses the various benefits and drawbacks of approaching health in different ways. LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the seventh videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Mindy Millard-Stafford, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Millard-Stafford's talk is called "(When) Will Women Outperform Men In Sport: Socio-biological Perspectives" and discusses the debate on whether or not women will overcome physiological barriers to performance. LISTENor WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

"You have probably heard someone tell you exercise is good for you and maybe you have even heard that exercise can help prevent a lot of diseases like diabetes and heart disease. But did you know that exercise does far more than helping you shape up for summer or feel better on a daily basis?..."

Today is the sixth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Mr. Kevin Spencer, Internationally acclaimed Illusionist and Researcher. Mr. Spencer's talk is called "Powerful Medicine: Simply Magic!" and is a great talk about new approaches to physical rehabilitation using simple tools that seem to be magic. LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

It's text article Wednesday. Check out the article by Kyle Levers, " The Power of Water—Recovery of the Modern Athlete." "While sports performance and training have become increasingly competitive and demanding, recovery techniques continues to rely on existing therapies. Many athletes find water therapies helpful to hasten the recovery process in order to return to bouts of exercise sooner, while minimizing fatigue and injury."

Today is the fourth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Anthony Hackney, Professor at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in Exercise & Sport Science and the Department of Nutrition. Dr. Hackney's talk is called "Exercise: Too Much of a Good Thing?" and is an examination of how excessive exercise affects the reproduction systems of humans. LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Check out this week's article and find out how to stay fueled for the race, and we aren't talking about gasoline! Andrew Jagim writes "Fuel For The Race," "Runners, cyclists, and other endurance athletes are constantly looking for ways to improve their performance. A commonly used strategy is the use of nutritional supplements to “boost” energy and enable them to perform longer and or harder before fatigue sets in."

Today is the fourth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. P. Darrell Neufer, Professor and Director of the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute at East Carolina University. Dr. Neufer's talk is called "Electricity - The Elemental Principle of Life (Was Dr. Frankenstein Right?)" and is an examination of whether the body's own electrical currents should be considered the determining factor in metabolic issues such as obesity.

Our weekly text article is from Majid Koozehchian, "Vitamin C Supplement: To Take or Not to Take?", "Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, and thus our body does not retain it in large amounts. It is a strong antioxidant that has a key role in..."

Today is the third videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Janice Thompson, Professor and Director of Research and Deputy Head of School in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. Dr. Thompson's talk is called "Obesity Wars: Exercise vs. Diet" and covers the current controversies and understandings in the war on obesity.

We have another great article this week by Kevin Shimkus, "Call Me Radical: Going Anti-Antioxidant?", "As important as regular physical exercise is for general health and well-being, a chronic lack of activity contributes to increased chances of adverse health risks and a decreased quality of life."

Today is the second videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Mr. Reggie Brown, former linebacker at Texas A&M and for the Detroit Lions. Mr. Brown's talk is called "The Day My Earth Stood Still: From Injury to the Rest of My Life" and covers what happens when a life-threatening injury happens on the field - from the player's perspective!LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Today is the first videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Larry Kenney, the Marie Underhill Noll Chair in Human Performance at Penn State University. Dr. Kenney's talk is called "Climate Change, Aging, and Human Health" and covers the physiological issues we will all face with the onset of Climate Change. LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out this week's text article about the importance of hydration. Andrew Jagim writes "Water is Key," "To unlock better performance, consider the humble beverage water. It is often one of the most overlooked and underappreciated ergogenic aids in today’s world of sports. The body is made up of ~70% water, which makes hydration a vital component for success-- not only during but..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to ithere!

We have another interesting article this week. Read about "SEXercise" by Brittany Rosen and Dr. Andrea L. DeMaria. Articles encompassing sex and exercise are trending in popular magazines, with pieces such as Have an Orgasmic Workout published by Women’s Health, and Orgasm at the Gym? It’s the Female Coregasm!published by Men’s Health. Due to hyperbole surrounding the topic, and our background in sexual health, we felt it was both necessary, and interesting, to explore the topic further.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

The weekly text articles are back. Check out the article this week by Brandon Macias, "Sclerostin: Bad to the Bone?" Most folks, especially those who do not suffer from bone debilitating diseases, might forget that their skeletons are “alive.” Yes, the bone that protects your vital organs and works with your muscles to get you out of bed in the morning is constantly remodeling.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

New article for the week, "My Racket Can't Find the Ball," by Priscila Cacola. Check out why Priscila can't seem to get her racket to find the ball. Have you ever wondered why a child learning to strike with a tennis racquet has trouble “finding” the ball....

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

This week's article is focused on "Control of Wrist and Arm Movements at Varying Difficulties" by Jason Boyle. Our muscles are controlled by “motor units”, which each consist of a neuron, and the muscle fiber(s) it activates or “innervates”. The muscle that responds is termed an “effector”. Brain mapping studies have shown that a disproportionate area of the motor cortex governs certain effectors of the body.

Sports Management is a rapidly growing side of Sport - and one that is often hidden behind the scenes. Joining us today in the podcast is Dr. Matt Walker, the Division Chair for Sports Management at Texas A&M. We talk about the many sides and aspects of Sports Management. If you're interested in how Sport works, this is a podcast for you! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Joining us today in the podcast is Ms. Tanna Burge, Texas A&M's new Director of Sports Performance. This is a great conversation for those interested in strength and conditioning coaching with wide-ranging topics about current practices in the field and the future of the field. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

This week's article features "Its OK to Eat Cholesterol. It May Even Be Good For You," by Chang Woock Lee. "Cholesterol is perhaps the most notorious biological molecule of all. To many people, cholesterol is simply a synonym for heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular disease because..."

As we chat with various guests about human performance (and health), one item that comes up on a regular basis that is part of everyday life, is alcohol (in its many forms). Today in the podcast we have one of the most renowned experts on all things alcohol-related, Dr. Adam Barry. Dr. Barry has spent his career working to understand alcohol's impact on learning, performance, and health. This is a great conversation with a great scholar. Enjoy!

New article up today!! Check it out! "Cholesterol Can Be Good. Really," by Teak Lee. What’s the first thought that comes to mind when the word “cholesterol” is mentioned? More often than not, it’s probably going to be negative. This is probably due to the bad reputation that cholesterol has gained because of its involvement in conditions such as cardiovascular disease. However...

On the heels of our podcast last week, we bring you the Race Across America (RAAM), which is a 3004-mile bicycle race. Dr. Jose Bermudez from Texas A&M, was the 12th place finisher this past summer in the RAAM. This is a great conversation about how these ultra-long-distance races are done (hint: no more than 90 min of sleep per day!) and the effort it takes to actually race across America on bicycles. Don't just ride, race.... Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out the new article! "How Long Can You Go? Training the Endurance Athlete" by David Ferguson. Have you ever watched a marathon and wondered how individuals can run for over 26 miles? Have you ever wanted to be the one who runs for 26 miles? Do you find yourself saying that you can’t run for 26 miles because you don’t know how?

Our new podcast season kicks off today with a great conversation with Dr. Kathy Langlotz of Aerofit Fitness. We talked to Kathy almost five years ago and she rejoins us to talk about her recent bicycle ride across America. This is a great example of someone ticking a huge adventure off their bucket list. Listen and find out what it takes to do this type of ride. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Its article Wednesday! That means we have a new article up! "Im an athlete, i do not have heart problems!" by David Ferguson. In today’s sporting environment, great importance is placed on the health education of the athlete. This includes proper nutrition instruction, health assessment, and the application of proper treatments and rehabilitation modalities to injured athletes. However...

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out this weeks Article! "Athletes Not Let Age Dog Them," by Travis Irby. The concept of dog years lets us quantify how man’s best friend ages. The popular myth is that a dog ages every seven years for one human year. While that is not necessarily the most scientific explanation for the canine aging process, the idea of aging many years in one is something that many people can relate to.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

"Metabolic syndrome, a condition including insulin resistance (causing diabetes), obesity, hyperlipidemia (high blood lipids), hypertension, and heart disease, is mainly due to high fat diets and lack of physical activity. It has become a major health concern in modern society..."

Check out the weekly text article, "Bittersweet Sarcopenia," by Nina Laidlaw Rumler. You might not have heard of sarcopenia, but it touches everyone – everyone who lives long enough to undergo this normal physiological process. A lessening of muscle mass and function, its cumulative effect is becoming a significant public health concern.

College football season is almost here! (Yea!) So, this week's "Best Of..." podcast is with Texas A&M Football Coach Mr. Mark Hagen. Coach Hagen, after a stint at Interim Defensive Coordinator, is now a Defensive Line Coach. He shares his insights today on football, how the college game is changing, and what to look for when those games begin. Here we go! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

"One of the best parts of my job is that every day is different. I recall one day in particular when I received a phone call from a woman interested in coming into the lab to have a fitness assessment done. The interesting part was that she said she did not want to do a VO2­ max test (treadmill test to measure aerobic fitness). I found this very odd because the majority of the population..."

This week's "Best Of..." podcast is from your requests: Dr. Molly Bray from Univ. Texas. Dr. Bray is a great nutrition and exercise researcher and this is a fun conversation about her work and some of her findings (YES! Bring on the bacon at breakfast!) Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out the Article this week. "Feel the Burn, Not the Burnout, Year Round," by Travis Irby. Many athletes compete in sports year round. Sometimes the athlete is involved in one sport with one long season spent with various school and club teams throughout the year. Other times, an athlete is involved in several different sports over a year. Whatever the case, it is important that the year-round athlete prevent the mental and physical burnout that can come with the rigors of never-ending competition.

This week's news that the Arizona Cardinals had hired a female for a coaching intern position triggered quite a bit of discussion regarding females in football. So, we've got a "Best Of.." podcast with Lydia Dubuisson from the Texas A&M HLKN department who has both played and coached football. This is a great podcast with a different perspective than what you may have heard in the news and certainly a perspective that is germane this week! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out our new weekly article, "Down-Side of Being a Female Athlete," by Greeshma Prabhu. Several decades ago, the US Government passed the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which eliminated sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving Federal aid. This law led to a rise in the female participation in sports over time, up to more than 150,000 women playing sports today...

Football season is almost here! As we all count down toward the football season, our "Best of..." podcast series is just going back to the spring, when we interviewed former Aggie Football Player Ben Compton. This is a fun podcast with a great individual - that will give you some insight into what football players are starting to go through at this time of year. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out the article this week, "Caffeine: Friend or Foe?" by Steve Bui. Oh, glorious caffeine, one of man’s best friends! For typical college students and other active individuals, it is a commonly required form of nourishment for any function before 10:00 AM. While we all know the basic immediate effects of caffeine (decreased fatigue, increased energy, and decreased appetite), it might be interesting to look at how that cup of coffee might affect other parts of your day.

Today we're bringing you a recast of a great podcast we did with an intriguing guest - Mr. Charlie Kimball who drives an Indy Car for a living (he placed 3rd in this year's Indy 500 in fact!). Uniquely, Charlie is the only driver at an elite level who is also a Type 1 Diabetic. Charlie's story is inspirational and an example of how high performance athletes often have to overcome many hurdles to participate. LISTEN NOW!.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Justin Dobson, Ph.D.(c), CSCS, SCCC, entitled "A Little Fish Oil Could Go A Long Way." Justin discusses various benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help to lower triglycerides in the blood, helping to prevent heart disease.

"Inflammation is a natural response to stress put on the body. It is the first step in the body’s healing process, in which repair cells are directed from the blood into the injured tissue. Acute (short-lived) inflammation is necessary, but..."

Sometimes the perspective of someone from outside the field talk to us about Sports Medicine and what they see happening. Comedian Kevin Hughes - an avid reader and health enthusiast - serves just such a role for us; the outside observer that let's us know how our field actually applies to folks outside of sports medicine. Kevin also is unique in that he's one of the few that we know that has listened to all of our podcasts and has actually commented on most of them. (What you haven't commented on them? What are you waiting for?) So Kevin has got a great viewpoint on our field, on all of our previous podcasts, and how these things actually influence the world. So give the podcast a listen - it's a fun talk with a smart and fun guy. LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article, entitled "Special Issues of Social Responsibility" by Kwame Agyemang, Ph.D. Kwame discusses the various parts of life for athletes that pertain to their social status, and how society perceives their lives.

"For quite some time, businesses and large corporations have used corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a management strategy for day-to-day operations. In summary, CSR offers..."

There are people that have the urge to run for long, long distances...We have the pleasure of talking to Ultra Runner Extraordinaire Dr. Mike Sandlin in the podcast this week. Join us to find about what it takes to run extremely long distances (more than 26 miles!). This is a great conversation filled with laughs....LISTEN NOW!

"With the introduction of Redbull to the United States in 1997, many athletes started consuming these drinks for additional energy and a reduction of fatigue. However, as word spread about the effects, the general public..."

In a special joint podcast with Texas A&M's Center for Translational Environmental Health Research (CTEHR.org), we are excited to present Dr. Steve Kleeberger, one of the countries preeminent scientists. You may think - "wait, this is supposed to be about human performance" - but hang on; we think you'll find what Dr. Kleeberger says to be very applicable to sports medicine (just think about the smog and the Beijing Olympics). Dr. Kleeberger has published several sports medicine articles over the course of his long career, so he is definitely at home with sports medicine! Also, if you're interested in how the environment affects your health (everyone should be!) hit the link below and check out the other podcasts at CTEHR. LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Another new article! Check out "The Power of Antioxidant Supplementation: Hype or Help?" by Majid Koozehchian.In our bodies, oxygen constantly produces toxic substances called reactive oxygen species (ROS), also known as oxidants. Antioxidants, biomolecules that combat oxidant damage, are produced by the body and can also be taken in supplement form.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

We have a new article up today! Go check out "Like a Fine Wine: Do athletes Get Better With Age?" by David Ferguson. We have all heard the late night talk show hosts joke about an athlete’s inability to retire. In fact, there seems to be a consensus that once an athlete reaches a certain age, he should retire from the sport...

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the new weekly text article by Kyle Levers, MS, entitled "Elementary School to the Pros." The article discusses the culture of specialization in youth sports, and how that affects the physiology of a typical growing young person.

"Despite all of the trophies and accomplishments hanging on the bedroom walls of today’s best youth athletes, many fail to make it through high school or collegiate athletics. The culture of youth sports has drastically changed from previous generations..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Kyle Levers, M.S., entitled "Fueling the Lean, Mean Vegetarian Machine"! Kyle discusses athletes, particularly those who value strength and power, and the various nutritive requirements to fulfill the needs of those athletes.

"Strength and power athletes are a unique athlete subset, which includes many different types of athletes and can span highly varied requirements for strength and power development. The difference in strength and power requirements stems from..."

Technology is making sports medicine more effective every day. Joining us today in the podcast is Mr. Dan Giuliani the CEO of Volt Athletics. The purpose of Volt Athletics is provide expert, online consultation for Strength Coaches and Athletes who may not have access to the best coaching and newest ideas in resistance training. This is an interesting application that will help to bring the best knowledge and coaching to athletes across the country

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Joining us today in the podcast is Dr. Brandon Marcello who is an independent performance consultant who most recently was the Director of Sports Performance at Stanford University. This is an interesting conversation that shows the changing nature of coaching to include nutrition, supplements, and conditioning. LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today in the podcast we've got a great conversation with Dr. Karen Clippinger from Cal State Long Beach. Our topic today is the use of anatomy and biomechanics to help dancers perform better (and recover from injuries). Dr. Clippinger is brought to us by the TAMU program in Dance Science! LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article by Dr. David Ferguson, Ph.D., RCEP entitled "Please Spit In This Tube, and I'll Tell You How Stressed You Are." The article discusses performance optimization through preparation for athlete.

"In the competitive sport world, athletes are required to train year-round in order to maintain a state of physical conditioning that will optimize performance during game day..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today in the podcast we've got a great conversation with Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Dr. Demark-Wahnefried has been one of the leaders in working to understand the relationship between nutrition and cancer - as well as the use of community gardens as a rehabilitative and preventative tool. This is a great conversation! LISTEN NOW!

"Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid (i.e., an amino acid not used in proteins) normally present in the blood. Hcy is a by-product of normal diet but high levels in the blood can endanger cardiovascular health..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

It is well accepted that childhood obesity is a major issue facing our society. This increase in fatness has been accompanied (some would say 'caused by') a significant limiting of the daily activity of children. Thus, we are pleased to have Dr. David Dzewaltowski from Kansas State University in the podcast today to talk about ways to help kids be more active - both in school and out of school. LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the ninth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. John Chong, Medical Director of the Musicians' Clinics of Canada. Dr. Chong's talk is called "Tuning the Mind and Body of the Musician for Optimal health and Performance" and covers new technologies for monitoring musicians' bodies to help optimize movement and performances.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the eighth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. JP Bramhall, Director of Sports Medicine and Team Physician for Texas A&M Athletics. Dr. Bramhall's talk is called "Biologics in Orthopedics" and covers new technologies for sports medicine rehab, including platelet rich therapies.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

We have a special podcast today. In our continuing effort to help folks understand what it is like to be a student athlete in a large University, we have on the podcast today, Mr. Ben Compton. Mr. Compton is a Senior and just finished all of his football eligibility and probably played more positions on the football team than anyone else. This is a great story about what it takes to not only get your degree, but also to participate in a high-profile sport like football. Also, there is an inside peek into Ben's work to be able to 'work' in the NFL in the future. Great insight here! LISTEN NOW!

Today is the seventh videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Kris Chesky, Director of the Texas Center for Music and Medicine at the University of North Texas. Have you ever wondered how musicians can listen to such loud music and retain their hearing? If so - and if if you haven't - Dr. Chesky's talk is about just that. His HD4 talk is called "I Want to Prevent Hearing Loss, But I'm a Musician and Not a Factory Worker!".

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the sixth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz from Univ. North Carolina Chapel Hill. Dr. Guskiewicz has been a long-time leader in the field of sports concussions as related to football and in honor of his work, was named a MacArthur Genius (look it up - it is impressive!). Dr. Guskiewicz's talk is called "Sports Related Concussion: Legitimate Concern or Paranoia? This is the talk to see if you want to learn about football and concussions! LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the fifth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Mr. Randy Dick of Health and Safety Sports Consultants in Indianapolis, IN. Mr. Dick has started a national initiative called "Athletes and the Arts" that aims to connect sports medicine with the performing arts. Mr. Dick's talk is titled "Athletes and the Arts: Get In Tune". This is a great talk that may help you look at the performing arts in a different context. LISTEN and WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the fourth videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is an award winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and reporter for ProPublica.org, Mr. David Epstein. Mr. Epstein's talk is titled "Small Data in Sports: Finding What Matters and What You Can Change". Much of this talk directly relates to talent identification - how do we find out who is going to be a great athlete. Mr. Epstein always gives engaging talks (just check out his HD2 talk and his TED Talk) and this is a great talk! LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the third videoand audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is a leader in the research being done on concussions, Dr. Ann McKee from Boston University. Dr. McKee's talk is titled "Sports and military TBI: Pathways to Neurogeneration". Concussion prevalence in sports is a huge health and safety topic and Dr. McKee has been one of the leaders in understanding what is happening - especially in football. This is great talk that is provocative! LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article by Jorge Granados, titled "Cardiovascular Health in Combat." "Performing loaded work in hot ambient environments is a common challenge for military soldiers. Blood delivery to the skeletal muscles in the attempt to maintain body temperature within certain boundaries place simultaneous demands on the volume of blood being pumped by the heart, also known as cardiac output (Q)..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

At some point, everyone deals with Performance Anxiety: whether it is shooting a free throw in a game, speaking in front of a group, or playing a piano at a recital, performance anxiety can be a debilitating condition. On that topic is today's second video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion by world-renowned bassist, Mr. Gerald Veasley. Mr. Veasley's talk is titled "Overcoming Performance Anxiety: A Musician's Perspective". This is a great talk and gives a great perspective on dealing with performance anxiety. LISTENORWATCHNOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Dr. Deepesh Khanna, titled "Are You Parasympathetic?"! Deepesh discusses heart rate variability (HRV), and how it relates to overall physiological function. "Heart rate variability (HRV) means changes in the interval or distance between one beat of the heart and the next..."

Ever wish you could keep up with the Huffines Institute content on your phone or tablet (especially the really great Huffines Discussion videos - like this one)?

Now you can with the brand-new Huffines Institute apps, available now on the Apple App Store (through iTunes) or through Google Play for the Android platform. The phone apps are available immediately for download (free of course) - just search for "Huffines Institute" and install. Coming any day are the tablet apps as well (these will show up as upgraded apps on your phone in the next week). Enable the 'push notifications' (we promise we won't abuse them!) so you can know whenever we put up new content!

Any comments you have about the app - let us know! We continue to make them better and we need your input.

Today we are pleased to welcome to the podcast Dr. Marielle Engelen from the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity here at Texas A&M. Dr. Engelen chats with us about the current research into the prevention of muscle loss in chronic diseases like COPD and cystic fibrosis and how things we can do every day - both from an activity and diet approach - can prevent this muscle loss. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Today is the first video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2014 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is the award-winning science- and sports-journalist from FiveThirtyEight.com, Ms. Christie Aschwanden. Ms. Aschwanden's talk is titled "What Beer and Running Taught Me About Science". This is a great talk and may make you think a bit more about the science your read.

Read the weekly text article by Yang Lee titled "Mitochondria and Cardiac Aging". "Oxidative damage, which is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells, affects the aging process, and old age is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This phenomenon is well explained by “The Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging”, which explains..."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Use it or lose it! Wait, that never is something you want to hear! Read the text article by Jeffrey Hord titled "Use It or Lose It: The Dynamic Nature of Skeletal Muscle" to learn how to combat a loss in muscle. "Skeletal muscles come in a variety of sizes and shapes so that they suit the particular function that they perform. Some of these muscles work virtually all of the time while others are necessary only part of the time."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Will Deaver titled "DEPTOR: New Kid on the Block" to learn about a new protein that may play a role in regulating insulin sensitivity. "The DEP domain containing mTOR-interacting protein, or DEPTOR, is a relatively new protein that our lab has focused on for its potential roles in muscle physiology. DEPTOR is a negative regulator of mTOR, a keystone protein responsible for muscle protein synthesis and cell growth."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Anita Mantri titled "Do Oral Contraceptives Impair the Osteogenic Response to Exercise?" "Since the introduction of “the pill,” its use as a form of birth control and contraception has steadily increased in women of child-bearing age as seen in reports from the CDC. When the pill first came out in the 1970s, its use was very limited out of caution about the unknown effects of adding extra hormones to the body."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Do you know someone who is currently fighting cancer or who has fought cancer in the past? Read the weekly text article by Mr. John Seawright titled "The Walk of Life: Cancer and Physical Activity" and be inspired to get up and walk! "For men, the probability of developing cancer at some point in life is equivalent to flipping a coin; 1 in 2; for women, it’s slightly better at 1 in 3. Take a coin out of your drawer and think of your father. Now, flip the coin. Let’s do it again. This time, think of your brother, your son, or yourself. At some juncture in your life, the phrase “I’m going to refer you to Oncology,” is likely to cross your road. Robert Frost had something to say about roads, and although the cancer road is well traveled, when trudging along that onerous path, perseverance can make all the difference."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Reflect on your grade school PE teachers. Your first thoughts probably consisted of the amount of time the teachers let you play tag. However, the quality of their preparation affects the students in a very interesting way. Read the weekly text article by Mr. Jiling Liu titled "How Do Preservice Teachers Understand Effective Teaching in Physical Education?" "Effective teaching (ET) in physical education (PE) happens when students have positive changes in thinking, behavior, and emotion. These changes can result in more positive attitudes toward learning motor skills, more active participation in PE classes, and/or improvement in PE grades. Research shows that what teachers understand affects how they teach."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Losing muscle mass? Check out this weeks article "Powering Skeletal Muscle Growth" by Ms. Jacqueline Perticone for an intervention to maintain your muscle health! "Loss of muscle mass with advancing age, disease or lifestyle has a profound influence on healthcare and society. Our laboratory uses hindlimb suspension in rodents to better understand loss of muscle mass occurring with disuse in an effort to design specific interventions that may be suitable to maintain muscle health and function in a number of populations."

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Dr. Jack Wilmore, who in 1999 started the initiative that became the Huffines Institute in 2003. There is more information regarding Dr. Wilmore elsewhere on this site (look under theAbout tab), but his generous personality as well as his leadership in the field of Exercise Physiology will be missed tremendously.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Have you ever tried to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? Not so easy is it?! Find out why when you read the weekly text article by Ms. Deanna Kennedy titled "Between Limb Interference: How Smart is Your Right Foot?" "It is well recognized that coordination is a fundamental aspect of skill related fitness. After all, many sports require some type of coordination between the limbs. Serving a tennis ball, for example, requires one limb to toss the ball while the other limb controls the timing and trajectory of the racket to facilitate contact with the ball. Swimming, on the other hand, requires a complicated pattern of coordination between the upper and lower limbs. While some coordination patterns are relatively easy for us to master, other coordination patterns have proved difficult or near impossible to perform."

This week's Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute features accomplished jazz bassist Gerald Veasley, a noted speaker at the upcoming Huffines Discussion 4, coming November 21st from 1:00-4:00 PM at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the links listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Can blood pressure medications do more than just lower blood pressure? Read the weekly text article by Mr. Jeffrey Hord titled "Blood Pressure Medication to Prevent Muscle Loss?" to find out. "Our bodies attempt to maintain a constant internal environment but achieving this consistency can be made much more difficult when we alter our external environment, such as going from walking upright to being bedridden for five days in the hospital. This change in the external environment alters the load on skeletal muscle fibers and will result in an altered internal environment."

Sports Medicine and Human Performance over the past 10 years has become a topic of increased interest in our military forces. So we are pleased to have Dr/Lt. Patrick Dougherty of the US Navy with us today to talk about aerospace physiology and exercise physiology. This is a great podcast about the career paths in the military for exercise scientists and about the real-world, life and death impact that these folks can have. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Sports medicine, when applied at the level of a University, is a complicated and multi-faceted enterprise. We are pleased to have Mr. Phil Hedrick, Head Athletic Trainer for Athletics at Texas A&M University in the podcast today to talk about the complexity of providing sports medicine care for 600 athletes. We also talk about some of the changing paradigms in sports medicine, especially in how it relates to health insurance. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Know someone that ages every year? Oh wait, that is everyone! Read the weekly text article by Mr. Yang Lee titled "Is Exercise Beneficial for the Elderly Heart?" "It has been reported that heart failure is the one of the leading cause of hospitalization for patients especially in the over-65 years aged population. Huge amounts of evidence indicate that impairment of myocardial structure and function through aging contribute to the development of heart failure."

Human performance includes many different types of human activity, including sports, exercise, and the performing arts. We are pleased that joining us in the podcast today is Ms. Elizabeth Ahearn who is a faculty member in the Dance Department at Goucher College, the Vice President of Regional Planning for the American College Dance Association, and the founding Director of The Pilates Center at Goucher. We chat about the origins of Pilates and what makes it different than other types of exercise, and how Dance performers use a variety of exercise types to remain healthy and active. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it, you can listen to the Podcast in its entirety here!

We're in the midst of college football season and once again, we're seeing high octane offenses challenging quickly evolving defenses. To talk about this, we've got Coach Terry Price, Defensive Line Coach for the Texas A&M Football team and former NFL player, in the podcast today. Coach Price has had extensive coaching and playing experience and this is a great conversation about how the game has changed and the challenges that coaches and players face. This is a fun podcast to listen to before the weekend slate of college games kicks off! Enjoy!

Check out the weekly text article by Mr. Majid Koozehchian titled "Using Chains May Improve Your Strength and Conditioning." "In recent years, strength training with unconventional objects has become popular (1). One unconventional method that has gained recognition by elite athletes is adding chains to the end of conventional barbells. There are many claims that this type of training can improve strength and power above those achieved by traditional free weights (2)."

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the links listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

We are pleased to have Dr. Molly Bray with us in the podcast today. Long-time listeners will remember that Dr. Bray was one of our first Huffines Discussion speakers and since then, she has relocated back to Texas. Dr. Bray is the Department Head of Nutrition at the University of Texas in Austin and shares with us today the results of her long-running federally-funded study on the genetics of exercise adherence and training responses (the TIGER study). Dr. Bray is always a great listen - and this podcast is no exception! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Do you wonder why some people seem to be more prone to exercise than others? Check out the article by Mr. Josh Avila, M.S. titled"Exercise Genes Not Jeans: Is exercise capacity predetermined?" to see how your DNA may be affecting your fitness level. "People like to place the blame on their genes for their lack of Herculean strength or Olympic endurance. But is this really fair? Do our genes actually have an effect on our ability to exercise? Improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness made by increasing levels of physical activity have been shown to reduce the level of all-cause mortality regardless of baseline fitness levels."

For
more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the
links listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance
Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning
at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Football season is in full swing and as does happen with any sport, injuries occur. Today we are pleased to have Mr. David Weir (ATC, LAT) with us in the podcast to talk about football injuries and treatment. We talk extensively about the world of Athletic Training, and especially how the emphasis on concussion monitoring is altering how football is practiced. This is certainly a timely topic and we think you'll enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Does Breast cancer run in your family? Read the text article by Ms. Divya Talwar titled "Does this world need more Angelina Jolies?" to see what preventative measure Angelina Jolie took! "In late summer, 2013, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt, revealed at a press conference that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy due to a “faulty gene.'"

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the links listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Welcome back to the Fall season of the Huffines Podcast! Our season kicks off with Dr. Karyn Esser who is the Director of the Center for Muscle Biology at the University of Kentucky. We're pleased to have Dr. Esser with us and we chat about various topics related to muscle growth and circadian rhythms. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Want to know how to maintain muscle mass and lose that stubborn fat? Check out the weekly text article by Mr. Vincent C.W. Chen titled "Don't Want to Lose Muscle Mass While Dieting? Take BCAAs!" "When eating less to reduce weight, it is hard not to lose some muscle mass. During dieting, the body struggles to keep sufficient energy stores, and therefore, it will break down muscle proteins to satisfy energy needs. While the basic equation for muscle mass is rate of protein synthesis subtracted rate of protein breakdown, decrease in muscle size will be observed if muscle protein breakdown is not prevented while on a calorie-deficit diet."

Sheril Marek, M.S. is a former Huffines Institute staff member where she worked as the Administrative Assistant for several years. Sheril is now attending The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston pursuing her Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and she was recently elected by her peers to serve as the class president. Way to go Sheril!

Check out the weekly text article by Mr. John Seawright titled "Code Blue" and find out the secret to cheating death! "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.” Dylan Thomas penned these anguished words as his once strong and youthful father lay aged, blind, and dying; words which paint an agonizing depiction of humanity’s struggle against and defiance of death. In today’s world, the endless rebellion against suffering and death is continued with a bellicose campaign against cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States."

Read the weekly text article by Mr. Kevin Shimkus titled "Understanding mTOR: Great for Muscle, Bad for Cancer." "In muscle research, we tend to pay a great deal of attention to a particular signaling protein called mTOR, a key regulatory protein that signals for cell growth through the creation of new proteins. Consider protein building similar to a race car. The larger the engine, the greater potential for speed. Similarly, the more mTOR protein present in any given cell, the greater potential for more protein construction. And just like the gas pedal fuels the engine, mTOR is a signaling protein, and can be various levels of active (like a pedal’s ability to regulate speed). If a number of different processes all signal for ‘Go’, then the cell builds as much protein as it can, as quickly as it can. So just as a souped-up car takes off rapidly, a muscle cell can signal for tremendous muscle growth very quickly, given the right conditions."

Read the weekly text article by Ms. Jami Lobpries titled "Exploring the Conflicting Gender Roles in Marketing Professional Female Athletes" "Two months removed from the 2012 Olympic Games, the majority of the fame, spotlight, and national attention for the female Olympic athletes subsided. In fact, the majority of these women often do not have viable professional leagues to return to post-Olympics. Gender disparities continue to exist in the sports world, particularly in..."

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute and to listen to the full podcast with the Associate Athletic Director for Football at Texas A&M Mr. Justin Moore, check out the link listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute and to listen to the full podcast with the Associate Athletic Director for Football at Texas A&M Mr. Justin Moore, check out the link listed below.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Do you love your morning dose of eggs? Read the weekly text article by Mr. Chang Woock lee titled "The Chicken or The Egg?" "The chicken or the egg? No, this is not about the famous causality dilemma of “which came first?” but rather about excellent sources of dietary protein."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Have you been thinking about starting a weight loss diet? Read the article by Ms. Corinne Metzger titled "Is That Favorite Pair Of Jeans Worth It?" before you start counting calories! "Maybe you have cut back on calories to fit into your favorite pair of jeans. On the other side of the spectrum, doctors encourage people to lose weight to lower the risk of chronic diseases. And beyond that, athletes watch their calories in the hopes of being leaner, lighter, or faster for their sport. All these are good, right?"

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

How many cups of coffee have you already had this morning? Learn about the effects coffee has on your body when you read the weekly text article by Mr. Steve Bui titled "Coffee: Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover?" "Chances are as you are reading this article you have already gulped down at least one cup of coffee for the day. This age old drink has been the secret weapon for many who need to wake up early, need to increase productivity throughout the day, or just simply need to supplement any meal with a hot beverage. What makes coffee so great and why does it keep you energized?"

Today's podcast has a guest host - Dr. John Thornton, Director of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy as well as a former Aggie Athlete and Coach, Ms. Kerrie Patterson-Brown, who is the director of the new Legacy-Collegiate Middle and High School in Houston. Ms. Patterson-Brown not only had athletic and coaching experience at the Div. 1 University level, but now is working to provide opportunities and education through the lens of coaching and teamwork. Plus, there is a bonus person in the podcast (but we'll keep that as a surprise for your listening pleasure). Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Check out the weekly text article written by Ms. Meredith Luttrell titled "Your Blood Vessels: Essential to Healthy Aging." "We seldom think about physical effects of aging until that first wrinkle appears. While it’s easy to associate aging with changes in appearance, changes that occur within the body, such as impaired blood vessel function, are more likely to affect the quality of life even more."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Read the weekly text article by Ms. Kaleigh Camp about the importance of hydration and exercise. Her article titled "Exercise-Induced Hyponatremia: Risk for Marathon Runners" will help you get ready for that afternoon run or Boston Marathon. "Standing at the starting line of the 2011 San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon with over 30,000 other runners, it was clear how popular these races have become for athletes as well as non-athletes."

Have you ever wondered exactly what is happening to your body when you exercise? Read the text article written by Mr. Josh Avila titled "Exercise: What's really happening" "When sitting on a couch late at night watching infomercials featuring super fit, muscular people, you might wish you could look like them because you’d be really popular and happy and look great in a swimsuit. Rarely do people think “Man, I wish I had as many capillaries to my muscle fibers as those guys do!” But those inward adaptations are critically important, too."

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

How many people do you know have aching or injured knees? TOO MANY! Read the weekly text article by Greeshma Prabhu titled "Rubbing the Knee." "The knee is the most important joint of the leg, providing stability and locomotion. This joint is formed by the articulation of the long bones of the leg called the femur (above the knee) and the tibia (below), along with a triangular bone, the patella (or kneecap), in between. Ligaments serving the knee joint are the anterior and posterior cruciate and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments."

As all world-wide soccer fans worldwide know, the World Cup starts today. The next six weeks are the culmination of three years of qualifying and countries around the world are excited to see how their team does. To kick-off the World Cup, we've got a special podcast with Texas A&M women's soccer coach G Guerrieri, the 2013 SEC Soccer Coach of the Year. Coach G has put a team in the NCAA playoffs every year he has been coach here and has a deep and wide-ranging view of the world of soccer. This is a great conversation to kick-off your World Cup viewing. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute listen to the full podcast with Coach G Guerrieri this Friday June 13,2014 on the Huffines Institute website.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

We have Coach Mark Hadley and marathoner Alana Hadley with us in the podcast today. Alana is the youngest marathoner to qualify for the American Trials in over 20 years and has set several national records in her age group. We talk today about how elite marathoners are trained and what is the future for American marathoning! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio(The Zone 1150 AM)every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to ithere!

Huffines Affiliate Dr. David Ferguson recently published an article in the Journal of Applied Physiology titled "Differential skeletal muscle proteome of high- and low-active mice." This publication focuses on identifying proteomic differences between high- and low-active mice in slow- and fast-twitch skeletal muscle, followed by causal determination of the role of strong candidate proteins in regulating physical activity.

Click here for more information about Dr. David Ferguson and the Children's Nutritional Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine. You can also read more about Huffines Affiliate co-authors Emily Schmitt, Heather Vellers, and Dr. Tim Lightfoot at the Huffines Institute website.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Muscle fatigue is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon and is most commonly defined as the inability to maintain a required force level after prolonged used of the muscle. The contributors to voluntary fatigue, henceforth referred to simply as fatigue, may be either peripheral or central, or both. Isolating the muscle or the brain in separate investigations can offer only a partial understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of fatigue.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Vivo-morpholinos are a promising tool for gene silencing. These oligonucleotide analogs transiently silence genes by blocking either translation or pre-mRNA splicing. Little to no toxicity has been reported for vivo-morpholino treatment. Huffines Affiliate, Dr. David Ferguson, recently published in BioTechniques. His publication titled "Lessons learned from vivo-morpholinos: How to avoid vivo-morpholino toxicity." explains studies conducted in their lab where treatment of mice with vivo-morpholinos resulted in high mortality rates. The paper investigates the mechanism by which some vivo-morpholinos increase mortality rates and proposes techniques to alleviate vivo-morpholino toxicity.

Click here for more information about Dr. David Ferguson and the Children's Nutritional Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Much of the sports media is focusing on next week's NFL draft - who will be drafted when and why. To salute the upcoming draft (and the three potential first-round picks from A&M), we have in the podcast Mr. Justin Moore who is the Associate Athletic Director for Football here at A&M. In the podcast, we talk about football, but from a different angle than most people expect. We think you'll enjoy hearing about how a big-time college football program is run... Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

We are honored to have A&M's Head Track and Field Coach, Pat Henry on the podcast today. Coach Henry's teams have won 34 National Championships over his career, including seven in the last five years here at A&M. We appreciate that Coach Henry took time out of his busy schedule in between national track meets to chat with us. So if you think that Track & Field is only an every '4 years' type of sport, it's worth your time to listen to this podcast! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the eighth video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2013 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is the Director of Sports Nutrition at Texas Children's Hospital, Ms. Roberta Anding. Ms. Anding - among her other duties - is the Registered Dietician for the Houston Texans, the Houston Astros, and the Houston Ballet. Ms. Anding's talk is titled: "Sports Nutrition: Peewees to Pros". Ms. Anding shares her unique experiences and great nutritional advice, especially if you are active. WATCH NOW! orLISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

All around the country, spring football is underway. To salute spring football, we are pleased to have Coach Mark Hagen, Linebackers Coach at Texas A&M join us in the podcast. This is a wide-ranging conversation from how you become a college football coach, to recruiting, to the role of the linebacker in modern football. It's a fun conversation! Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the seventh video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2013 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is the Izod IndyCar racing series driver, Mr. Charlie Kimball. Mr. Kimball's talk is titled: "Diabetes in the Fast Lane". Mr. Kimball shares his unique experiences as the only elite-level race driver with Type 1 diabetes. This is a fun talk just in time for the start of the IndyCar season! WATCH NOW! or LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Recent research findings indicate that with older adulthood, there are functional decrements in spatial cognition and more specially, in the ability to mentally represent and effectively plan motor actions. A typical finding is a significant over- or underestimation of one's actual physical abilities with movement planning- planning that has implications for movement efficiency and physical safety. A practical, daily life example is estimation of reachability- a situation for the elderly may be linked with fall incidence.

A strategy used to mentally represent action is the use of motor imagery- an ability that also declines with advancing older age. Huffines Affiliate and Director of the Child Motor Development Laboratory, Dr. Carl Gabbard's recent publication in the Journal of Applied Gerontology titled "Mental Representation for Action in the Elderly: Implications for Movement Efficiency and Injury Risk" highlights research findings on mental representation and motor imagery in the elderly and addresses the implications for improving movement efficiency and lowering the risk of movement-related injury.

Click here for more information about Dr. Carl Gabbard and the Child Motor Development Laboratory.

We're so pleased to have Dr. Laurie Priest join us in the podcast today. Dr. Priest was and continues to be one of the pioneers in women's sport and the inclusion of women in all aspects of sport. This is a great conversation about some of the history of this movement and how all sports have and will continue to benefit from full inclusion. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

The literature strongly suggests that daily physical activity is genetically and biologically regulated. Potential identities of the responsible mechanisms are unclear, but little has been written concerning the possible evolutionary selection pressures leading to the development of genetic/biological controls of physical activity. Given the weak relationship between exercise endurance and activity levels and the differential genomic locations associated with the regulation of endurance and activity, it is probable that regulation of endurance and activity evolved separately.

Today is the sixth video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2013 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is University of Tennessee's Dr. Ed Howley. Dr. Howley's talk is titled: "How Much Exercise Is Enough?". Dr. Howley unravels the tangled recommendation for how much exercise you really need. This is a great talk from one of the legends in Exercise Physiology. WATCH NOW! or LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Dr. John Thornton, Director of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy discusses all topics related to Texas A&M Basketball and basketball in general. This weekly podcast with Gabe Bock and Olin Buchanan is broadcast on Wednesdays at 8:30am on TexasAgs Sports Radio The Zone 1150am.

Reduced mechanical loading during bedrest, spaceflight, and casting, causes rapid morphological changes in skeletal muscle: fiber atrophy and reduction of slow-twitch fibers. An emerging signaling event in response to unloading is the translocation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase from the sarcolemma to the cytosol. Dr. John Lawler, Huffines Affiliate and Director of the Redox Biology and Cell Signaling Laboratory, recently published in the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. His publication titled"EUK-134 ameliorates nNOSµ translocation and skeletal muscle fiber atrophy during short-term mechanical unloading" looked at EUK-134, a cell-permeable mimetic of superoxide dismutase and catalase, to test the role of redox signaling in nNOSµ translocation and muscle fiber atrophy as a result of short-term (54 h) hindlimb unloading. Redox signaling may serve as a biological switch for nNOS to initiate morphological changes in skeletal muscle fibers.

Click herefor more information about Dr. John Lawler and the Redox Biology and Cell Signaling Laboratory.

Spring is finally beginning (whew!) and many people start getting out and running again after the cold winter. Some of them even start thinking about running marathons. We've got a great podcast today with Mr. Mark Bravo is a tireless promoter of the marathon and it's benefits. Enjoy! LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM)every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Numerous candidate genes have been suggested in the recent literature with proposed roles in regulation of voluntary physical activity, with little evidence on these genes' functional roles. Michelle Dawes, doctoral student in the Biology of Physical Activity Laboratory and Huffines Institute Student Affiliate, recently published a journal article in Biomed Research International. Her publication titled "Differential Gene Expression in High- and Low-Active Inbred Mice" compared the haplotype structure and expression profile in skeletal muscle and brain of inherently high- and low- active mice. Expression of nine candidate genes was evaluated. Read more to find out which ones!

Explore the Huffines Institute website for more information about Michelle Dawes, the Sydney and J.L. Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance and the Biology of Physical Activity Laboratory.

Today is the fourth video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2013 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Kaiser-Permanente and the Developer of the International Exercise Is Medicine initiative, Dr. Robert Sallis. Dr. Sallis' talk is titled: "Exercise and Health: How to Prescribe Exercise in Clinical Practice". This is a great talk - both funny and informative - on how and why exercise is a perfect medical treatment and why it should be treated as such. WATCH NOW! or LISTEN NOW!

Our very own Director of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy, Dr. John Thornton, has been featured in the Health and Kinesiology Department's semiannual "On The Move" magazine. The article highlights the current efforts of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy, the Huffines Institute, and Dr. John Thornton. This campus wide venture looks to make leaders in education and prepare and support 21st century coaches.

You can find the article in the newest edition of the"On The Move" magazine and don't forget to pick up your hard copy!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

This past weekend, February 27-28, 2014, was the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (TACSM) annual meeting held at the beautiful campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The Huffines Institute, as well as the Health and Kinesiology Department at Texas A&M are very proud of our faculty and student award winners.

Dr. Jim Fluckey, Huffines Institute Internal Advisory Board Chair, was voted as the new President-elect for TACSM for 2016.

Texas A&M University health and kinesiology undergraduates, Katherine Elmer, Megan Cole, And Liliana Ogden, are the 2014 TACSM Undergraduate Student Bowl Champions. They will be competing in the National Student Bowl Competition at the National ACSM Conference in Orlando, Florida in late May.

Health and Kinesiology doctoral students, Jeffrey Hord, Yang Lee, William Deaver, and Dustin Joubert were TACSM Student Research Development Awardees

Kinesiology undergraduate, Katherine Elmer was also the TACSM Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar, a TACSM Majors of the Year, and was the recipient for the TACSM Scholarship.

TACSM Student Poster Presentation Awards:

John Seawright (Doctoral Student Research)- 1st Place

Edwin Savio (Undergraduate Student Research)- 3rd Place

Again, congratulations to all of our Aggies this past weekend, way to represent Texas A&M University! Good luck to our undergraduate student bowl team at the National ACSM Conference! Bring home the GOLD!!!

Recent studies indicate that the ability to mentally represent action using motor imagery declines with advanced age (>64 years). As the ability to represent action declines, the elderly may experience increasing difficulty with movement planning and execution. Huffines Affiliate and Director of the Child Motor Development Laboratory, Dr. Carl Gabbard's recent publication in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics titled "Association between imagined and actual functional reach (FR): A comparison of young and older adults" provides insight to the effects of advanced age on the ability to mentally represent action and its association with movement execution. These results may have clinical implications based on the question of whether motor imagery training could improve movement estimations and how that might affect actual reach.

Click here for more information about Dr. Gabbard and the Child Motor Development Laboratory.

We are joined in the podcast today by Ms. Leigh Liebmann who is the Program Coordinator for the Dallas chapter of "Back On My Feet". This program is another example of how to use exercise and sport to facilitate societal change - in this case to help with employment and housing. This is a great podcast with someone who is trying to change the world by using exercise! LISTEN NOW!

Recently, a particular college football coach has justified his support for a rule that would allow substitution of defensive players within the first 10 sec of the play clock by claiming that this is a player safety issue. He has stated that he is concerned about his players that have sickle cell trait and how the exertion of playing defense may trigger sickling and death. Is this really a concern for defensive players during a game? It is true that sickle cell trait occurs in about 8% of those athletes whose ethnic backgrounds may put them at risk. It is also true that athletes with sickle cell trait have died suddenly after exertion. However, when you look closer at the data, this coach’s justification dry up. First, of the 20 football players (in particular) with sickle cell trait that have died in the last 10 years, all 20 died during or immediately after extreme and long conditioning drills and usually early in the season. None died during a game. Let me repeat, “none died during a game or right after”. In fact, the American Society of Hematology says that athletes with sickle cell trait can participate in sports as long as they take the same precautions that all athletes take to prevent heat-related injuries – in other words, they need to stay hydrated and rest when appropriate. This recommendation is backed up by the National Athletic Trainers Association as well as several other professional societies – and has been since 2007! Again, where sickle cell trait has been problematic has been when extreme conditioning drills have been conducted without appropriate fluid and rest. So, can Sickle Cell Trait be a problem during a game? Probably not –during a game, the pace is not sustained as long as it is in any of the extreme long conditioning drills – witness that in the 5 year period from 2008-2012, the average was 2.31 plays/min – or almost 26 seconds from one play to the next – with 12-16 seconds of that time at rest. So is it possible that a defensive player may have an issue during a game from sickle cell trait – yes? Is it probable? No. But look at it another way – why isn’t this coach concerned about his offensive players, or basketball players, or soccer players, or track and field athletes. The same concerns apply to these athletes as to the defensive football players.

In the end, concern for players’ safety is admirable – but let’s really figure out what is a probable safety issue versus an issue that has an extremely small possibility of occurring before you start to change a fundamental aspect of a sport. There’s more information and discussion about this issue at HuffinesInstitute.org. Until next week, we hope you have an active and healthy week.

Learn More About the Huffines Human Performance Minute on

“Slowing Down Football for Sickle-Cell Trait: Justified or Strategy in Disguise?”

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Today is the fourth video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2013 Huffines Discussion. Up today in our series is Kaiser-Permanente and the Developer of the International Exercise Is Medicine initiative, Dr. Robert Sallis. Dr. Sallis' talk is titled: "Exercise and Health: How to Prescribe Exercise in Clinical Practice". This is a great talk - both funny and informative - on how and why exercise is a perfect medical treatment and why it should be treated as such. WATCH NOW! or LISTEN NOW!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs SportsRadio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here!

Dr. John Thornton, Director of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy, has been honored in the 12th Man Magazine Series "Making an Impact." Read the article and find out how this Aggieland Legend is making an impact at Texas A&M University and Aggie Athletics.

Basketball is heating up with the end of the collegiate basketball season coming soon. This week, we're replaying one of our favorite podcasts where we have Dr. Mike Thornton with us in the podcast this week to talk about refereeing college basketball. The one group of involved folks that we don't normally hear from are the Basketball Referees. As the season heats up, we thought it would be great to hear again from a Division I College Basketball Referee. Dr. Thornton has officiated Division 1 basketball for several years and brings a great perspective on watching basketball (and gives some suggestions on how to properly heckle referees!)...This is a timely and fun conversation.

Our very own Texas A&M University graduate student, Heather Vellers, has been featured in the Health and Kinesiology Department's semiannual "On The Move" magazine. The article highlights her current research looking for links between performance and heart rate. Uniquely, this isn't the typical performance associated with sports medicine. Ms. Vellers' "rock n roll research" is focused on musicians from various genres and their cardiovascular changes during a performance.

You can find the article in the newest edition of the "On The Move" magazine and don't forget to pick up your hard copy!

Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minute broadcasts at TexAgs Radio (The Zone 1150 AM) every Wednesday morning at 10:45am. If you missed it you can listen to it here

Our very own, Emily Schmitt, sits down for an interview at KAMU TV to discuss "Tips to Stay Healthy in the New Year!" Don't miss this opportunity to learn about nutrition, importance of aerobic and resistance training, and other aspects of general health. It is never too late to kick start the NEW YOU!

The interview will air Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 11:00pm on KAMU TV (Channel 12 local).

Today we have our third webcast of our 2013 Huffines Discussion talks (these talks are analogous to TED Talks). Up today is Notre Dame University's Adam Sargent talking about the role of academics in sport and how athletes can be mentored to do well in academics as well as sport. You can see the video here, or if you don't have time, download the audio-only version here. The transcript of the talkis here and Mr. Sargent's bio is here! Enjoy!

Dr. Shane Hudson, Director of the Texas A&M Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics, joins us to chat about the role of Sports and Athletics in the University. There is so much attention given to budgets and costs and sports is often a large expenditure department of the University. Why do Universities has sports? We cover that topic (and more) in this podcast! LISTEN NOW!

Today we have our second webcast of our 2013 Huffines Discussion talks (these talks are analogous to TED Talks). Up today is Hall of Fame Coach Mark Johnson talking about the importance of Athletics/Sports in a University You can see the video here, or if you don't have time, download the audio-only version here. The transcript of the talk is here and Coach Johnson's bio is here! Enjoy!

Following last week's podcast about exercise and pregnancy, Dr. Buzz Pruitt joins us for a frank discussion about sex education. This topic has become politicized in some segments of our society, so it's great to hear a clear, reasonable voice regarding sex education. Dr. Pruitt doesn't shy away from any of the contentious issues and we think you'll be well-informed by this chat. LISTEN NOW!

Today we kick off the webcast of our 2013 Huffines Discussion talks (these talks are analogous to TED Talks). First up today is Dr. Jim Pivarnik from Michigan State University talking about Exercise and Pregnancy! You can see the video here, or if you don't have time, download the audio-only version here. The transcript of the talk is here and Dr. Pivarnik's bio is here! Enjoy!

Former football coach, player, and media personality Lydia Dubuisson joins us in the podcast to talk sports marketing and football. This is an interesting conversation that goes where you will least expect it to go. LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article "Iron Helps Us Play" by Steve Bui. "Iron is one of the most essential minerals to health; unfortunately, sometimes we neglect its importance. What makes iron so important?"

Joining us today in the podcast are Major Nick Barringer (RD/LD) and Captain Will Kobbe, both of the United States Army. Both Nick and Will are at Texas A&M finishing up advanced degrees in Kinesiology as a part of their service commitments. We talk with Nick and Will about fitness and physical training in the military and how society's health problems are actually health problems for the Army as well (and how the military is attacking these health problems). This is a great conversation about training of soldiers that introduces a new term into our lexicon ("tactical athletes").

Read the weekly text article "Shred Body Fat in Just 61 Days" by U.S. Army Ranger William Kobbe. "A title like the one above usually produces immediate interest and often some skepticism, especially in the society of quick fixes but, at least in this case, isn’t misleading. A course pioneered in the 1950’s in support of leadership development does just that -- shreds body fat."

As we talk about human performance, we should remember that Dancers also have performance and sports medicine issues. Today's special guest is Dr. Suzanne Semanson who is a Dance Medical Therapist from the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Medical Center. We have a great conversation regarding injuries and rehabilitation of dance performers, especially on the Broadway theater scene. This is a great peek behind the 'theater curtain' as to how these athletes perform and rehabilitate when they are injured.

Read the weekly text article "Motor Output Variability in Older Adults" by Deanna Kennedy. "Often athletic performance seeks to improve accuracy and consistency. For example, while playing golf, we want to consistently hit the ball into the hole. However, many factors affect our ability to produce smooth and accurate movements."

Read the weekly text article "Age is Just a Number: Exercise is Key for Successful Aging" by Meredith Luttrell. "As we get older, a vibrant quality of life enables us to keep doing the things we enjoy and that bring meaning to our lives. Exercise is important for health, but it is also one of the best ways to stay energetic and independent with age."

There are many examples of how Human Performance can translate into advances in general health. Today in the podcast we have Merry Lynn Morris from the University of South Florida who talks about the Rolling Dance/Mobility Chair project. This project was started to allow disabled individuals to be able to express themselves through dance, but has morphed into the development of a chair that gives the disabled unprecedented mobility. This is a great conversation on how working to solve a specific problem can unexpectedly solve larger, general problems. LISTEN NOW!

Have you ever wondered why spinach was so important to Popeye's diet? Read the weekly text article "Popeye's Secret is About to be Revealed" by Chang Woock Lee to find out. "Do you remember Popeye the Sailor, the cartoon and animation character with massive forearms and a smoking pipe in his mouth? He usually shows a calm and gentle demeanor, but when necessary, especially to protect Olive Oyl, the love of his life, from his archrival Bluto, he suddenly turns into a hyperactive action hero with superhuman strength by eating his magic food, a can of spinach."

Today's guest is Dr. John Chong of the Musician's Clinic of Canada. Dr. Chong is another of our joint collaborations with the Athlete and the Arts initiative which is designed to apply sports medicine practices and knowledge to the Performing Arts (and vice-versa!). Dr. Chong is the President of the Performing Arts Medical Association and a clinician who was a piano child-prodigy. So, he speaks first-hand of the injuries, overtraining, and and medical needs of a performers. Check out some of Dr. Chong's videos below to get a taste of his piano chops! LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article "Can HMB Build Elite Athletes?" by David Castille. "When it comes to competitive athletics, or just reaching goals in the gym, people are always looking for some form of aid or advantage. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (the only form of HMB), or HMB, may prove to be a potent ergogenic aid for many different kinds of athletes."

Dr. Michael Reid, Dean of the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida joins us in the podcast today. Dr. Reid has been a long-time pioneer in understanding why muscles work like they do - in particular, Dr. Reid's team was the first to understand that muscles made reactive oxygen species to regulate muscle contraction. Don't let the last sentence scare you - it's easier than you think especially as Dr. Reid explains it. And this is an important topic as we understand more and more about what controls muscle fatigue. It's a fun conversation. LISTEN NOW!

One of the continuing underlying topics in sports is the inclusion of a wide variety of individuals in sports, sports administration, and recreation. Dr. Akilah Carter-Francique, one of the national experts on Diversity Management in Sports, joins us in the podcast today. This is a great conversation and is probably a bit different than you might think. LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article "Chia Seeds: “More than an answer to ceramic statue baldness”' by Samantha Springer. "The title’s quote was published by the Global Healing Center as a clever introduction to the health benefits of the infamous chia seeds. Chia pets have been a popular novelty since the 1980s, but as science advances, health discoveries are gradually shifting the purpose of this herb away from garnishing a ceramic display. It is now being classified as a superfood that should be utilized by everyone; however, endurance athletes ought to especially consider what it has to offer."

Randy Dick, co-founder and co-developer of the Athletes and the Arts initiative joins us today in the podcast. This initiative is working to link the sports medicine world with the world of performing artists such as vocalists, musicians, and dancers. As you've heard from several of our previous podcasts, there are many overlaps between sports medicine and performing arts so this initiative is timely. LISTEN NOW!

Join us for an inspirational podcast with Mr. Jon Feinman, the founder and Director of InnerCity Weightlifting in Boston, Mass. Using exercise and sports to promote positive social values is not new - but the courage and vision to directly take on violence and work to reduce violence through weightlifting is incredibly unusual. Mr. Feinman takes us on a journey from his life as a soccer player to an inner city activist who is working to reduce gang violence through sports and exercise. LISTEN NOW!

Read the weekly text article "Magnesium & Exercise- Much Ado or Much Needed?" by Sarah Renaghan. "Magnesium – what does it do for – or to – us? As an essential trace element, it is vital to the human body. Magnesium facilitates over 300 enzymatic reactions in the human body in the areas of.."

Read the weekly text article "Quidditch: Simultaneously Pursuing Snitches and Gender Equality in Sport" by Adam Cohen. "J.K. Rowling has accomplished more than conquering the literary world (over 400 million books in the Harry Potter series have been sold) and the movie industry (over seven billion dollars grossed worldwide). According to the 2008 Kids & Family Reading Report, she can also be given accolades for increasing children’s desire to read: "three in four kids say reading Harry Potter or having someone read Harry Potter aloud has made them-interested in reading other books." But beyond all of those successes from the franchise, there could be yet another benefit rising in schools across the country."

We are joined in the podcast today by Ms. Jennie Morton, a renowned vocalist and dancer who is also an osteopath and works to help performers stay healthy. She has performed on the West End and travels the world doing workshops on proper practices for health in performers. And if you've wondered how performers can dance and sing at the same time, you need to listen to the podcast! It's a fun conversation, so LISTEN NOW!

Check out the weekly text article! "I <3 Your Sugar Sweet Game! -- Exercise and Diabetes" by John Seawright. "The national anthem has been sung, home plate has been cleaned, and the starting lineup announced. The athletes go through the final mental checklist before taking the field. Hat? Check. Glove? Check. Cup? Check. Insulin?"

Dr. Susan Wagner - an expert in School Physical Education - joins us in the podcast today. We talk extensively about the need for activity for kids, why school systems are abolishing PE and recess, and how these actions could be jeopardizing not only the kids' health but also their academic progress. (Yes, students actually do better on tests when they're active. Easiest way for schools to boost performance on academic tests - make sure that recess and PE are in the curriculum. Are any School Principals listening?)

Read the weekly text article "Should Selenium Be Sold?" by Sheril Marek. "Selenium is a trace element that is nutritionally essential for humans. Essential nutrients are required for normal body functioning that cannot be synthesized by the body. This shows the importance of consuming adequate selenium in one’s diet and supplements for enhanced exercise performance and decreased health risks."

Most of us listen to music and are exposed to loud sounds through-out our life. Dr. Kris Chesky, Director of the Texas Center of Music & Medicine at the University of North Texas, joins us in the podcast to talk about hearing health and how your hearing can be affected by music. Dr. Chesky is at the forefront of research looking at ways to maintain your hearing health in music settings and brings a fresh perspective to this topic.

Read the weekly text article "Improving Goal-Directed Limb Movement: Don't Overthink This" by Jason Boyle. "Our nervous system is highly adaptable in perceiving, analyzing and executing movements in relation to an ever-changing perceptual environment. We use vision, knowledge of limb location, and anticipation of force production while simultaneously recognizing variability in our judgment to execute movements through the world around us."

Ms. Jennifer Simmons, Lead Exercise Physiologists of Iredell Health Care System, joins us today to talk Cardiac Rehab! You may think, "hey, I don't need cardiac rehab" - and hopefully you don't! But it is estimated that only 20% of the people that could benefit from cardiac rehab actually try rehab. So listen up and encourage those you know with heart 'issues' to make sure they get qualified, appropriate care. LISTEN NOW!

People are always telling you to avoid the dessert aisle and sweet, sugary candy. Read the weekly text article "Chocolate's Not So Dark Secret" by Benjamin Tipton and, maybe, you won't feel guilty for taking a few extra bites out of your chocolate bar. "Cocoa and its derivative chocolate have been used for thousands of years by the cultures of Central America."

Read the weekly text article "Should Women Do Resistance Exercise" by Vincent Chen. "When talking about resistance exercise, some people believe that women respond less than men in terms of muscle mass and strength gain, while others think that it may make women look bulky."

It's summer and what better time to talk about....Antioxidants and Free Radicals? Antioxidants and free radicals continue to be a huge topic in the world of sports medicine and today we have Dr. John Lawler, one of the world's experts on antioxidants with us on the podcast to talk about exercise, health, and the role of antioxidants. Given the number of times we all hear about antioxidants, this is a great podcast to give you some background information!

Read the weekly text article "Effects of a Combination Treatment of Fish Oil and Curcumin" by Rachel Botchlett. "Skeletal muscle is a highly specialized tissue that is responsible for voluntary motion and plays a significant role in glucose metabolism and maintaining postural support. The loss of skeletal muscle, defined as atrophy, is characterized by a marked reduction in muscle protein synthesis coupled with an increase in protein degradation and can lead to a loss of contractile force."

We are starting our new podcast season with a special interview with David Epstein, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated. Today is a special day because Mr. Epstein's new book - The Sports Gene - was released yesterday on August 1. In the book, Mr. Epstein considers the 10,000 Practice Rule (and why it is false), as well as the actual role of genetics in determining what type of athlete you'll be. This book - as well as our podcast - takes you not only into the lab, but also to East Africa, to Jamaica, and to the Arctic Circle in pursuit of the answer to how much influence nature vs. nurture has in determining each of our athletic prowess (and you'll see how reindeer are involved in this answer!). If you're a long-time listener, you know that our interviews with Mr. Epstein are always fun and stimulating conversations.

Read the weekly text article "Iron Bars and You" by Nina Laidlaw Rumler. "Do you know what sport uses weights and is governed by rules published in 17 different languages with participants in 100 different countries, competes males and females of all ages and sizes against others in their divisions – and is not in the Olympics?"

Do you think you are out in the sun enough? Read the weekly text article "D is for Deficiency- An Overview of Vitamin D Deficiency and Athletes" by Caitlin Hendler and you might rethink many of those indoor activities. "Most commonly known as the “Sunshine Vitamin,” the main source of this fat-soluble vitamin is exposure to sunlight because of few food sources. The benefits of vitamin D go much further than merely a bronze tan..."

Read the weekly text article "The Invisible Death Ray" by John Seawright. "We’ve all seen it; the vicious collision that leaves a football wide receiver writhing in apparent pain; his strenuous, assisted walk to the locker room; and his eventual return to rejoin his team on the sideline with the accompanying statement from the sideline reporter, “The x-rays are negative.”

Cancer is a scary topic and today's podcast guest - Science Writer Jessica Wapner - brings us a new book (The Philadelphia Chromosome) that brings hope in the fight against cancer. This book is a great story about a new way of fighting cancer using just a pill - yep, no chemotherapy or radiation treatments necessary - and it has a 85% effectiveness!

Read the weekly text article "What if I Want My Inflammation? – The Effects of NSAIDs on Training Adaptations" by Andrew Jagim. "It makes sense right? It’s the day after a tough workout, you’re sore, it hurts to move but you have to move because you have another session with your trainer in two hours. So, what do you do? You pop some non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) to take the edge off and get back out there for round 2! The question is: Is this doing more damage than good?"

Concussions in sports have become a 'hot' topic and deservedly so because of the fact that concussions are brain injuries. Journalist Patrick Hruby has been on the forefront of reporting on the dangers of concussions to NFL players' health. This is a great podcast that might change your mind about the current NFL/player concussion lawsuits....Enjoy!

Read the weekly text article "The $2 Performance-Enhancing Supplement" by Steve Bui. "If you look at any advertising in the media, you will notice constant bombardment by ads for performance enhancing supplements. The supplement industry is one of the most lucrative marketing fields. The promise of being able to perform bigger, faster, and stronger by drinking some special water, swallowing a small pill, or anything in between just sounds so appealing. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the majority of consumers, most supplements do not work at all."

Dr. Jon Welty-Peachy joins us today in the podcast to chat about the role of Sport in society development. Dr. Welty-Peachy does work in using sport to reconnect the homeless back to society as well as using sport to promote World peace. This is a broad-ranging and deep conversation about how we can use sport as a tool to develop individuals and society.

Read the weekly text article "Beyond Choice: The Tale of an Obese Girl" by Ann Amuta. "I always teased my obese friend, Molly, who grew up in the ‘hoods’ of Houston until she told me about her life’s journey to obesity and all the health complications that have ensued."

Today is our 10th Anniversary! and to celebrate, we've got a special podcast with Dr. Jack Wilmore, the Founder and first Director of our Institute! Dr. Wilmore is also one of the legendary figures in Exercise Physiology in the United States having published over 300 scientific articles and being at the forefront of so many different phases of the growth of Exercise Science from the 1960's to the 2000's.

Read the weekly text article "Resistance Exercise: Turning the Bad into Good" by Vincent C.W. Chen. "High fat and high cholesterol foods are delicious, but generally, they are not healthy. When we enjoy delicious meals that are high in fat and cholesterol, we are increasing the risks of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. However, does it really mean that we should not eat this kind of food at all?"

Today we are pleased to have Mr. Zerick Rollins from A&M's Student Athlete Service department in the podcast today to chat about how college student/athletes approach their studies and their sports. Mr. Rollins brings with him experiences as an athlete and a coach in football at both collegiate and professional levels, so his advice and guidance regarding success strategies for student/athletes are well founded.

Check out the weekly text article "Impact of Execise Training on Cardiovascular Risk and Anti-Risk Factors in Adolescents" by Majid Koozehchian. "Childhood and adolescence are critical periods in the formation of cardiovascular risk factors. Many cardiovascular diseases are related to such risk factors as high levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG), as well as low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The causes of cardiovascular risk factors are manifold, involving environment, lifestyle, and genetics."

Our podcast guest today, Air Force Captain Julianne Gillespie, is an Aerospace Physiologist with a fighter group and is also a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist with a Masters degree! We have a great conversation with Capt. Gillespie about the demands of flying high-performance jets and how exercise physiology can help optimize pilot performance.

Our podcast guest today - 2013 National High School Athletic Director of the Year Kevin Ozee, from the Southlake Carroll Independent School District - chats with us about the challenges, rewards, and motivation for providing great athletic programs for students. This is a great conversation with one of our country's leaders in this area.

It's time for the weekly text article "Talk To The Hand" by Deanna Kennedy. "The ability to coordinate movements between the limbs is important for many activities of daily living and sport specific skills. For example, tying your shoes, slicing bread, driving your car, and serving a tennis ball are tasks that involve some type of coordination between the limbs. However, the role of each limb may vary with different task requirements."

So many people wonder about metabolism, especially with all the media-coverage about weight loss. Renowned metabolism researcher, Dr. Nicolaas Deutz, joins us in the podcast today to talk about nutrition, metabolism, cancer, and exercise!

This week's tragedy at the Boston Marathon have made many people question safety at large sporting events. Mr. Caruso conducts sports event emergency planning and training around the country. So join us today in the podcast as we delve in the little-appreciated world of sports event emergency planning.

Should you take Vitamin C when you're feeling sick? Read this week's text article to find out. "Feeling Sick? Take Some Vitamin C...Wait What?" by Steve Bui. "I think it is safe to say we have all heard it at some point in our lives. I remember as a child, my mother telling me on several occasions. In fact, whenever I had the slightest cough, she would squeeze lime juice into everything I ate. Whether it is your loving family, friend, television advertisement, or newspaper, the general consensus has always been that if you are feeling sick, or have flu-like symptoms, increasing your vitamin C intake will help you recover faster and prevent future cases… Is that so?"

Dr. Judy Sandlin joins us in the podcast today to discuss USADA's anti-doping educational efforts. This is a fun conversation that highlights the other - and mostly unknown - side of the anti-doping efforts in the world.

Check out this short video from Analisa Jimenez, Heather Vellers, Sheril Marek, Emily Schmitt, and David Ferguson (all Huffines Volunteers) that is their official entry in the national "Let's Walk: ACSM 2013" competition! You'll get a kick out of it .... and might learn a thing or two about walking! It's great fun!

In honor of the Final Fours (both men's and women's college basketball) this weekend, we're pleased to have Dr. Mike Thornton with us in the podcast this week to talk about refereeing college basketball. Dr. Thornton has officiated Division 1 basketball for several years and brings a great perspective on watching basketball (and gives some suggestions on how to properly heckle referees!)...This is a timely and fun conversation.

There is NO way you can miss this weeks text article! "Destined for Heart Disease?-NO Way" by John Seawright! "Heart disease is a cruel ailment that befalls many Americans. It is a life threatening disease that does not strike only a single individual; the suffering proliferates through the patient’s entire family."

We are pleased to have Dr. George Cunningham from here at Texas A&M join us in the podcast to discuss the issues surrounding sports and sexual identity. How transgendered athletes should be allowed to participate in sports and any accommodations required is a difficult, but necessary discussion to have. This is a provocative discussion and we look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Adam Sargent is, the Associate Director in Notre Dame's Academic Services for Student Athletes office, joins us today in the podcast for a great chat about the academic side of college athletics, which may be the most important side there is!

Check out this weeks text article "N-Acetylcysteine, the Obscure Antioxidant" by Majid Koozehchian. "The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a modified form of essential amino acid cysteine, which is both consumed in high-protein food and synthesized in the body, does not receive much attention but has important, positive impacts in the body."

Check out this weeks article titled "Where "Wnt" The Bone! Resistance Exercise Prevents Bone Loss" by Brandon Macias. "The estimated lifetime risks of an osteoporotic fracture are about 50% in women and 22% in men. Fractures in the elderly lead to large, often irreversible loss of quality of life and are associated with an increased risk of death. Furthermore, annual direct-care costs attributable to osteoporotic fractures are estimated to cost up to $18 billion in the United States. Most research to date has shown that regular weight bearing exercise helps preserve bone mineral density in postmenopausal women and older men."

Karl Kapchinski - Head Athletic Trainer for Texas A&M - returns from the front-lines of treating athletes with a great podcast about current issues regarding injuries - like concussions - and the best way to treat them. This is a great inside view into the world of athletic training and some of the 'behind-the-scenes' that help teams remain competitive and on the field.

Check out this weeks text article "I'ts not just about playing the game..." by Kwame Agyemang."For those in the workforce, you may remember completing some type of training or orientation before you actually started your duties. Thinking back, how would you rate the usefulness of that training?"

Join us as for this week's podcast we sail off on our next 100 podcasts, starting with a great chat with Dr. John Thornton, the Inaugural Director of the Texas A&M Coaching Academy. Dr. Thornton is a long-time Aggie - Athlete, Coach, and Athletic Administrator - and is now running this new initiative started within the Huffines Institute. We have a great conversation about why we need a Coaching Academy and the future plans for this academy.

Check out this weeks text article titled "NATURES GATORADE: Effectiveness of Coconut Water on Electrolyte and Carbohydrate Replacement" by Kyle Levers. "The popularity of coconut water has increased significantly over the past decade due to its nutritional composition and rehydration capability. Natural coconut water is the clear liquid found inside of a young, green coconut, not to be confused with the white liquid typically squeezed from the coconut’s outer layer, known as coconut milk. A growing number of nutritional advertisements promote the use of coconut water over other well-established sports drinks, such as Gatorade or PowerAde for enhanced rehydration and electrolyte replacement."

Check out this weeks text article, "Alpha Lipoic Acid: the Universal Antioxidant" by Majid Koozehchian. "Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), also called thioctic acid, is an antioxidant that is commonly used as a dietary supplement, particularly in the Unites States."

New superhero in town?! Check out this week's text article titled Mighty Mouse: Understanding Myostatin by Kevin Shimkus. "As is well known, physical gains become slower and more difficult to achieve as athletes reach a more elite status. For those involved in strength- and power-based sports, improvements in strength and mass eventually plateau, and even rigorous workout and nutritional prescriptions may yield only minimal increases. So it is little surprise that many in the athletic world are starting to pay more attention to some very special mice."

You've been waiting for it and here it is: the 100th Video and Audio Podcasts from the Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance! We do all things 100 today: We talk to Mr. Mike Dillingham - Aggie Class '35 who is 100 and is the oldest living Aggie - about his time on the Texas A&M baseball team from 1931-1935. We welcome back to the podcast one of the world's elite ultramarathoners Dr. Mike Sandlin who runs (and wins) 100-mile foot-races for fun! (really). And for our 100th guest, we're pleased to welcome College Football Hall of Fame Coach (and winningest Aggie Football Coach of all time) RC Slocum. We recorded this podcast live, so we were joined by Lauren Santacroce as the Announcer and Karl Rehn provided the music. We had a great studio audience of about 200 people, so it was great fun.

Sometimes the perspective of someone from outside the field talk to us about Sports Medicine and what they see happening. Comedian Kevin Hughes - an avid reader and health enthusiast - serves just such a role for us; the outside observer that let's us know how our field actually applies to folks outside of sports medicine. So Kevin has got a great viewpoint on our field, on our 98 previous podcasts, and how these things actually influence the world.

Today we are joined in the podcast by Dr. E. Lisako McKyer from Texas A&M. Dr. McKyer is an expert in Health Promotion and Prevention and before you tune out, you should know that this is a kickin' podcast. We cover a wide-range of issues including why Health Promotion is still relevant in our 'sickness medical model' and why Health Disparities research actually covers everyone. We even talk about exercise and sports! So give it a listen.

The scientific literature is very clear: regular physical activity may be the best medicine available. In particular, there are several forms of cancer that regular exercise can prevent. Breast cancer is one of the cancers that is prevented with exercise and we are pleased to have Dr. Weston Porter join us in the podcast to chat about breast cancer and some of the new discoveries in the cancer field. If you've wondered what work is actually being done to try to prevent and 'cure' cancer, you should listen to this podcast.

Today, we are pleased to joined by Dr. Melinda Sheffield-Moore from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Sheffield-Moore is a renowned scientist in muscle development especially in the area of muscle wasting that occurs with cancer and aging. Much of her work has been involved with testosterone supplementation and how that helps develop muscle, especially in chronic diseases.

We are pleased to have Dr. Samuel Cheuvront from the United States Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in the podcast today. Dr. Cheuvront is a noted expert on hydration during exercise and was one of the principle authors of the military's policies on hydration for our soldiers.

As we lead up to our 100th podcast episode in a few weeks, we though it would be fun to bring back our first podcast guest, Dr. Jim Fluckey. Dr. Fluckey is a well-established research in the area of building muscle (and protein synthesis) and is always a fun person to talk to.

October has been designated as Breast Cancer Awareness month and we are pleased to have Breast Cancer researcher Dr. Robin Fuchs-Young from Texas A&M with us in the podcast. We talk about cancer research and importantly, breast cancer prevention during this podcast.

Read the text article this week and learn about "Beeting the Competition with Nitrates," by Julian Ong. "The latest trend to hit the sports supplement industry stems from none other than the humble beetroot. "

Every so often, there is a great book that comes along that reveals a bit more about why we play and have sports in our society. Such is the case with a new book - The Ball - that was recently released. Dr. John Fox is the author and we are pleased to have him with us in the podcast to talk about his book and the topics he covers within.

Check out this week's text article by Ramon Boudreaux titled "Exercise - Take Once Daily For Better Bone Health." "It is often joked that if exercise could be given as a pill it would be the most prescribed drug in the world. While some benefits of exercise are well known (e.g., the prevention of heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity), some remain esoteric."

We are especially pleased to welcome Dr. Claude Bouchard from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center with us today in the podcast. Dr. Bouchard is one of the most prominent Exercise Physiologists in the world with over 1000 scientific publications. Dr. Bouchard has been forerunner in working to discover the genetic regulation of both obesity and exercise capacity.

"Rolling Toward Recovery: Theory of Self-Myofascial Release and Foam Rolling," by Kyle Levers. Many athletes are engaging in foam rolling, read and find out why! "The repetitive and high performance demands surrounding athletes of all levels forces many to find the most effective, yet practical recovery methods. Various types of massage therapies have been investigated and employed by many athletes due to the historical background in rehabilitation and relaxation."

We are pleased to have Bryan Minniti, the Asst. GM of the 2012 MLB National League East Champions Washington Nationals on the podcast today. We cover quite a few topics, including the somewhat controversial decision by the Nationals to shut-down their star pitcher before the season was completed.

On a periodic basis, we bring practitioners from the fitness-world to give folks tips and insight about working out and increasing their activity levels. Today we are pleased to have Ms. Terri Gonzalez owner of DeCore Fitness Studio join us to talk about the relatively recent development of private, personal exercise studios. This is a great conversation about this new personal gym movement as well as what you should look for if you're joining a gym.

Today we are pleased to have Dr. Marcas Bamman from the University of Alabama Birmingham with us in the podcast today. Dr. Bamman is a well-known scientist in the area of protecting muscle function and we have a great, practical conversation about why protecting muscle function is important for everyone and the best ways to do that.

Today is the eighth of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Noah Dean. Dr. has built a sizable following on YouTube disproving many of the current fitness gimmicks (such as PowerBalance bracelets and Shake-Weights). This is a great podcast as Dr. Dean talks about "Avoiding Gimmicks in Health & Fitness: Refusing to Return to the Dark Ages". Here is a link to Dr. Dean's bio.

Have you ever thought about how technology is changing what we think is fact? Joining us this week in the podcast is Dr. Robert Gold from the University of Maryland who is renowned for his work, research, and writings about the role of technology in Health and Science.

Today is the seventh of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Dennis Bramble from the University of Utah who talks about "Can Grandma Run? An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Exercise, Aging and Endurance Performance".

Today is the sixth of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Stella Volpe from Drexel University. Dr. Volpe is a high energy, renowned research in the area of Nutrition and Obesity. You won't want to miss this podcast - Dr. Volpe talks about "Avoid the Muffin-Top! ObesitPrevention through Lifestyle Changes."

Today is the fifth of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Mr. Michael Hodges from Texas A&M University. Mr. Hodges was an award-winning linebacker for the Texas A&M football team and was widely respected for his tenacity and his determination to play in spite of multiple, serious injuries. Mr. Hodges gives us the athlete's perspective of sports medicine in his talk titled "The Real Pain in Rehabilitation" .

Today's podcast is the third of our Olympic themed podcasts. We talk to Dr. Ed Coyle from the University of Texas in advance of the London Olympic Marathon to talk about whether a human will ever run a sub-2 hour marathon.

Today's podcast is the second of our Olympic themed podcasts. We are pleased to have award-winning sports journalist Christie Ashwanden join us today to talk about the London Olympics and sports doping.

Today is the fourth of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Michael Davis from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Davis is a renowned expert on performance and fatigue and continues to do great work using sled dogs to find information that can help humans exercise longer. Dr. Davis' talk is titled "The Art and Science of Fatigue - Proof" .

The London Olympics is just around the corner and of course, and with all of the performances and stories that will happen there, David Epstein from Sports Illustrated is with us today in the podcast to give us a heads-up as to what he thinks will be the intriguing stories of these Olympics. I appreciate Mr. Epstein's '30,000 foot' view of sports and his take on what are the interesting stories in sports medicine.

Today is the third of our special video and audio podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholars. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Wendy Kohrt from the University of Colorado Dr. Kohrt is a highly lauded scientist and was recently selected to give the prestigious Wolfe Lecture keynote talk at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting. Dr. Kohrt has made many contributions to the understanding of how exercise impacts bone health and her Huffines Discussion talk was titled "Got Strength? Building Stronger Bones through Exercise" .

Today we are pleased to have sports medicine physician and former Cirque du Soleil performer Dr. Kristin Wingfield on the podcast. Dr. Wingfield knows the athletic world well, having been on the Canadian national gymnasitcs and diving teams and we have a fun chat about a a side of sports medicine that many don't think about.

Today is the second of our special video and audio-only podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Talks. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Dr. Jacques Dallaire from Performance Prime. Dr. Dallaire is renowned for his ongoing work with elite athletes and high performance professionals. His Huffines Discussion talk was "Perform Like a Champion...What is Holding You Back" and deals with how you can improve your performance in anything! Here is a link to Dr. Dallaire's bio.

Today, we've got a great conversation with Mr. Kevin Bastin, Director of Athletic Training Services for the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Mr. Bastin was formerly with the Washington Redskins and was head Athletic Trainer for the Houston Texans. We chat about athletic training and rehabilitation of elite athletes and recreational athletes.

Today we kick-off the special video and audio-only podcasts of the 2012 Huffines Discussion Talks. This week's 2012 Huffines Discussion Scholar is Sports Illustrated's David Epstein. Mr. Epstein is a Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated and was recently nominated for the Livingston Award which is given to outstanding journalists under the age of 35 in the United States.

In the podcast today is Mr. Chris Field, Founder and Director of the Bryan/College Station Marathon. We talk about the unseen world that is so critical to having these types of events. ALSO, I'd encourage you to listen just because of the profound reason why Chris organized this race.

Today we are pleased to have Dr. William Hale from Prairie View A&M University in the podcast today. We chat about elite cycling, stretch (and whether you should do it or not), and health disparities in cheerleaders. It's a fun conversation!

We are pleased today to have the third in a series of podcast interviews with student-athletes today. We are pleased to have Ms. Adaora Elonu, MVP of the Texas A&M 2012 Women's Basketball Team join us to talk about academics, basketball, being a student-athlete, and competition.

Huffines Institute Volunteer and Kinesiology Doctoral student was on the British Broadcasting Channel's program Top Gear. If you're not familiar with Top Gear, it is the most popular automobile show in the world and they happened to catch David while he was in the pits at the November NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Texas MotorSpeedway. Send us an email at Huffines@hlkn.tamu.edu and tell us where you saw him in the show and we'll send you one of our podcast t-shirts!

The Sports Dietician for the NFL's Houston Texans, MLB's Houston Astros, and the Houston Ballet, Ms. Roberta Anding, RD/LD joins us in the podcast this week. This is a straight-ahead discussion of the nutritional challenges of both elite athletes and normal folks. It's a fun conversation!

We are pleased to bring you a podcast today with Mr. Andrew Wolridge, former A&M football player. This is a fun conversation and gives us a look behind the curtain at the life of a student athlete during their time in a major athletic program. Join us today for this fun conversation....

We have a special podcast edition - nothing like starting your week with a new podcast! We look inside the world of dance today - ballet, modern, and other forms with Dr. Tom Welsh from Florida State University.

How are schools working to keep kids active in the face of the elimination of physical education classes? Joining us in the podcast is Health and PE Specialist Matt Belles from the 17th largest school district in the country as we chat about this issue.

Joining us in the podcast today is Dr. David Bassett from the University of Tennessee who is a renowned expert in how to measure human activity and how activity levels differ between technological societies and non-technological societies.

by Majid Koozehchian. Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid (i.e., an amino acid not used in proteins) normally present in the blood. Hcy is a by-product of normal diet but high levels in the blood can endanger cardiovascular health...

Baseball season is almost here! We've got a great podcast today with MLB's Washington Nationals Asst. GM Bryan Minniti about professional baseball, injuries, and rehab in a large organization with multi-million dollar athletes. Join us for Mr. Minniti's behind-the-scenes insights about professional baseball.

IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball joins us in the podcast to talk about the special sports medicine needs of an IndyCar driver as well as his special physiological needs. Charlie is the first elite racing driver to race with Type 1 Diabetes and it is incredibly interesting to hear how his team (and IndyCar) handles his condition.

Has Exercise Science / Sports Medicine changed? Yes - and in ways that many did not foresee. One of the Fathers of Modern Exercise Science - Dr. Ed Howley - joins us in the podcast today to talk about where we've been and where we're going in Sports Medicine.

Dr. Jay Williams from Virginia Tech joins us in the podcast today to talk about using social media to translate sports medicine to the public, especially in the area of soccer. Jay actually works in the area of molecular biology and sports and in the last few years has really been working to make Sports Science understandable to the public. So join us for this fun conversation!

We're into the second month of 2012 and many people are rethinking their New Year's resolution to lose weight. Our podcast today is a delightfully frank conversation with Ms. Faith A. Lightfoot, President of Lighten The Load and an expert on weight loss and healthy living in women and children. This is a hard-hitting conversation that highlights the difficulties of maintaining healthy weight in our modern society.

In the past few months, there have been several football players that have collapsed and died away from the field. So how much risk do these athletes have for sudden death? Dr. Stephen Crouse, an expert in athletic medical screen joins us in the podcast today to talk about what we know about athletic sudden death and the real risk to athletes. This is a great podcast, especially if you are an athlete or have a child participating in sports.

We've got something different for you this week in the podcast that we think you'll enjoy. Our friends over at EscapePod.org are allowing us to broadcast one of their episodes - Fuel by Matthew Rotundo - that dealt with the future of athletic performance enhancement. This is a great episode to generate conversation about the future of performance and what we will allow as a society.

It's the New Year and we start with Dr. Pat Goodson joining us in the studio. Dr. Goodson is a writing expert and leads us in a discussion about what is the 'scientific literature'. Why do we trust the scientific literature and why is it important for us to know about it? If you want to be able to figure out what is true or not in sports science, this is a fun conversation and one that will make you think.

It's a special holiday podcast with Sports Illustrated writer David Epstein. We have two firsts in this podcast: our first three-time guest, and our first podcast live from Doha, Qatar. We talk with David about Ryan Braun doping, Colt McCoy's concussion, and what he's doing in Qatar for Sports Illustrated. It's our holiday podcast - the elves had fun putting this one together!

Dr. Charlie Shea, expert in figuring out how we move and coordinate our movements, joins us today in the podcast. We have fun talking about sport, music, and everyday movement and how our brain coordinates all of that movement.

Check out our new article, "A Little Fish Oil Can Go a Long Way," by Justin Dobson. Inflammation is a natural response to stress put on the body. It is the first step in the body’s healing process, ....

It's our 50th Podcast Celebration! We're lucky to have as a special guest Dr. Larry Kenney, Professor from the Noll Laboratory at Penn State University. Dr. Kenney is an eminent Exercise Scientist that has spent most of his career looking at why aging hinders our ability to handle heat. Join us for this fun, entertaining conversation.

We have another great weekly article, "Special Issues of Social Responsibility," by Kwame J.A. Agyemang! For quite some time, businesses and large corporations have used corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a management strategy for day-to-day operations. In summary, CSR offers a template for the way corporations should conduct business (e.g., their economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities to society).

We've got Dr. Ross Tucker, from the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa in the podcast today. Ross is currently on the management team of the South African National Sevens team (you'll have to listen to find out what Sevens is), is one of the most astute and well-spoken young Exercise Physiologists in the world, and has been heavily involved in the debate about whether Oscar Pistorius should be allowed to compete against able-body track athletes. If nothing else, tune in for the discussion of the Pistorius case for an illustration of how politics, science, and the judicial system sometimes intersect to the detriment of truth.

We've got a great podcast with Mr. Adam Davis who is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Stewart-Haas Racing, the parent company of the race teams of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman in NASCAR's Spring Cup Championship Series. We talk about strength training of pit crew athletes...

Dr. John Buchanan joins us in the studio today for our podcast and chats about his work with basic perceptual processes. Dr. Buchanan works to understand how we balance and move through space and how our brains perceive and track that movement. This is a great talk on an emerging area of research that may have significant impact for many patient populations.

New article up! Check out this weeks article, "Eating disorders in Athletes," by Faith Lightfoot! This article builds upon last weeks article about the female athlete triad. What do gymnasts Kathy Johnson, Nadia Comaneci and Cathy Rigby have in common?

Today we are pleased to have Dr. Noah Dean from Texas Lutheran University join us in the podcast. Noah has made a mission of exposing and educating the public about quacks and fraudulent health products that are on the market. This is a fun conversation and greatly needed in today's consumer society. We also talk about Noah's experience as a stuntman on Friday Night Lights.

We have a new article up! Be sure to check out this weeks article, "The Female Athlete Triad: The Importance of Energy," by Kaleigh Camp! The American College of Sports Medicine refers to the female athlete triad as the interrelationships among energy availability, menstrual function, and bone mineral density. The new Triad model has each component of the female athlete triad on a continuous spectrum. These spectrums range from a healthy state to clinical outcomes of disease, which including eating disorders, amenorrhea (absence of a menstrual period for 3 or more months), and osteoporosis...

from Dr. and Astronaut Richard Linnehan, who talks about "Living, Working & Exercising in Space: An Astronaut's Perspective". This is a great talk that shows some of the stresses on astronauts as they complete their space missions.

We've started putting up text articles to help answer general questions that we get. One of our first articles was written by Emily Schmitt and is titled "Is GU for You?" Researchers have studied diet manipulation for years in relation to delaying the onset of fatigue, and these studies have resulted in mixed conclusions. Scientific publications conclude...

Join us as Dr. Dave Wright from Texas A&M visits the podcast studio today. We have a great conversation about 'deliberate' practice and whether that helps performance or not. This is a hot topic right now in sports science and it's great that we've got Dr. Wright here to chat about it!

Today's video podcast is from Dr. Frank Booth, who talks about "Walk Away from Type 2 Diabetes". This is an engaging talk from one of the preeminent Exercise Physiologists in the World and presents an easy to understand plan for dealing with Type 2 Diabetes.

Join us today for a historic podcast with Mr. Jim Whitehead, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American College Sports Medicine, the world's largest professional organization devoted to Exercise and Sports Medicine. Jim chats with us about the recent historic United Nations Health Summitt (only the second health summitt ever held at the U.N.) that focused on diseases caused by lifestyle issues. A large topic at the UN Summitt was the recognition of the huge role that physical inactivity plays as an underlying cause of disease and death. Even if you are not interested in health policy, you should tune in this podcast to find out how you can influence health in your local area and in the world!

Today's video podcast is from 2011 Huffines Discussion Scholar, Dr. Steve Riechman, Texas A&M University, who talks about "Eat More Cholesterol for Your Health and Strength". This is a great talk that may challenge many of the beliefs you may have about cholesterol.

In today's podcast, we talk to Dr. Lee Brown from the Univ. of California Fullerton about isokinetic resistance training. We also cover whole body vibration and the role the National Strength and Conditioning Association plays in guaranteeing that your personal trainer knows what they are doing.

Join us this week for a great video podcast by Mr. Kevin Hughes - Comic Extraordinaire. Kevin has a great take on health and wellness and is an end-user of what we do as sports scientists. He's got a great perspective and is fun to listen to (plus, check out his bio - Comic of the year several times!).

Our awareness of the prevalence of concussions in sports is increasing....Join us today as we chat with one of leading experts in rehabilitating athletes after concussion, Dr. Mickey Collins from the University of Pittsburgh. It is a great conversation and one that all of us need to hear.

What are the components of success? Talent? Practice? Determination? Join us in the podcast as we chat with Dr. Angela Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania who tells us about GRIT and the role of determination in success. This is a great conversation about a topic that is easy to talk about, but hard to study.

Recently CNN.com published a list of the top ten exercise myths. But are those myths really myths? We asked four bright, rising stars in Exercise Science - Brad Lambert, Emily Schmitt, David Ferguson, and Justin Dobson - for their take on the 'myths'. It's a fun group, a fun conversation, and the first time we've had four guests on the podcast at the same time!

Join us for the most recent video podcast from the Huffines Discussion: Dr. Michael Reid, from the University of Kentucky, who talks about "Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Free Radicals: Of Cowboy Hats and Elephants". And as the title implies, it was a fascinating talk!

If you knew exactly what sport you were best suited for, would you be interested? Several companies claim that they can tell you what sport you would be best at. Join us today in the podcast as we talk to Dr. Steve Roth from the University of Maryland who is an expert on using genetics to select for sport.

One of the most difficult conversations we might have is how race plays a role in sport, so why not have the conversation? Join us today in the podcast as we chat with Dr. John Singer, a noted scholar on the role of race in sport.

The request for proposals (RFP) for the 2011-2012 Huffines Affiliate Faculty Research Seed grants has been released. Sign into the Huffines Affiliate section to get the details. The deadline for the proposals is May 31 at 5 pm.

We've got a new podcast up....Dr. Mike Massett, NIH-funded researcher, discusses advancements in the search for the genetic mechanisms that control exercise endurance. Click on over to the podcast page to join us for this great conversation - don't worry - the genetic jargon is held to a minimum!